How to Vote in Wisconsin

A quick guide on how to vote in the Badger state.

In 2016 Hillary Clinton (whom I loathe and wish had lost to Bernie Sanders in the primaries) narrowly lost Wisconsin by only 22,748 votes. Of the nearly 4.5 million eligible voters in the state, only 3 million cast a vote.

That means that Democrats registering only 30,000 more voters could have helped swing the fate of the nation in a completely different direction (with help in other key states) away from the hate-filled rhetoric and dumbing down of our nation we are currently seeing thanks to Donald Jackass Trump.

If you look at the table below poor attendance for the elections is as Wisconsonian as cheddar cheese and green jerseys. If Democrats and those who believe in progressive ideas hope to win future election, we will have to make an effort to change this trend by registering more like-minded voters.

Year

Voting Age Population

General Elections Votes

General Election Turnout

2016

4,461,068

3,004,051

67.34%

2014

4,416,501

2,422,040

54.84%

2012

4,378,741

3,071,434

70.14%

2010

4,372,347

2,171,331

49.66%

2008

4,330,695

2,996,869

69.20%

Due to all these facts, I have created a quick and easy guide on how to vote in the state of Wisconsin that you can share with anyone you know who lives in Wisconsin and is not registered to vote. Enjoy!

If you have placed a bet on the outcome of the election you cannot vote

You cannot vote twice in the same election

How to register to vote in Wisconsin:

The Wisconsin voter registration website (MyVote Wisconsin) is easily the best voter registration site I have seen so far.

It allows you to see if you are already registered to vote and easily register if you are not. It also allows you to check what issues will be on your ballot, update your address, and request absentee ballots among many other options.

If you prefer mailing your registration in you can do that as well but you will have to print out the form and make sure you mail it to the address of your local municipal clerk which you can locate at myvote.wi.gov.

Proof of residency will be required if you mail in your voter registration, register in person at the municipal clerk’s office, or register on the day of the election. Generally a photocopy of a utility bill or ID will work for this. Since you need an ID to vote in Wisconsin you may as well just take a copy of that if you have one or begin getting yours to provide as proof of residency. You are also able to get a free voter ID in Wisconsin if you go to your local DMV and apply for one.

You can also request an absentee ballot and vote by mail if you are registered to vote already through the MyVote Wisconsin website. You will need to have your absentee ballot in the mail by 8:00pm on the day of election day but it is better to do it sooner than later so the rest of us don’t have to stay up as late on election night waiting for the absentee ballots to keep being counted.

Overall, I am really impressed with how Wisconsin runs their voter registration process. Voting identification is also provided for free so long as you make a trip to the DMV and go through the waiting in line it takes to get it, so it does not seem that ID is being used as a poll tax.

Wisconsin offers so many services and information online that I don’t even have to do that much research trying to figure out how to communicate how to vote in the Badger state. For a state that voted Republican and is led by Paul Ryan I’m actually shocked that they have made it so easy to vote given the general trend of Republicans limiting voting access to their constituents.

Please share this with any and all people you know who are living in Wisconsin so they can either register to vote or share the information with people who can register to vote. Together we can make a difference, we just have to actually act.